Wednesday, January 31, 2007
SINGAPORE 2, Thailand 1
my heart started to really beat as i approached the National Stadium... i could already see fans streaming in like lines of red ants... a huge mass gathered at the East entrance... music was blasting from loud speakers, enterprising vendors dotted throughout the area, shouting, advertising the various food packets and snacks they were selling. i found a young boy peddling Singapore mini-banners and quickly whipped out $4 for two... tying one across my forehead like a hairband, i felt like rambo.
indeed, there was a carnival-like atmosphere in the place, along with a tension of sorts... Singapore fans were going to war. almost everyone was in warfare attire... red tees of all sorts - some had 'Roar, Lions, Roar' across the front, Arsenal and Manchester United jerseys, plain tees, etc... there were also some shades of pink around, for those who didn't have a red outfit in their wardrobe but wanted to affirm that yes, they are Singapore fans. You could also spot the odd expat.... angmoh couples leading their little kids in red kiddy clothes... the blonde with "Singapore" across her forehead... the brunette guy with a pic of a Lion blazing across his tee...
The Thais were there too... they were easy to spot... little bunches of yellow in the sea of passionate red... as mean as this may sound, i enjoyed the uneasy facial expressions on the Thai fans' faces... it must have been quite uncomfortable for them to be surrounded by us, with Singapore fan spontaneously shouting "Go, Lions!" etc every now and then.
we made our way into the stadium and i caught my breath when i emerged from the the little passage linking the stairs and the interior of the stadium. there were sooooo many fans! it was like Malaysia Cup all over again! there were the cheers, the whistles, the chants, everything!
I was so glad i was there, together with the thousands of Singapore fans.
as the time drew closer to 8, kick-off time, the crowd got more and more excited and nosy. we were sitted near the Thai fans - a small crowd of yellow. every now and then, you'll hear a roar emerging from a side of the stadium. then, the Kallang Wave happened. we easily did about 6-7 of them. because the Wave was coming in from our right, everyone in my sitting area would turn in that direction and watch it approach. we'll be stamping our feet in eagerness, a soft roar rumbling in our throats. the closer the Wave came, the faster and harder we'll stamp our feets, the louder our roar got. til finally, it was our turn and we all stood up, waving our hands in the air with a triumph roaring blast! it was lovely to see the Thai fans get into the act too, doing the Wave with us, lol.
Photographers and camera crew were walking on the tracks, taking pictures, videos of fans. some fans would loudly shout and beckon to the camera crew to come to where they were, and when the camera assistant gave the go-ahead thumbs-up, the fans would go crazy, jumping about, waving their flags.
when the football players started lining up on the field, a loud cheer sounded from the stands. the Thai anthem was played first, and some Singapore fans shouted out "respect, respect" as we all kept quiet while the Thai fans stood up. then, it was our turn, and the drum roll at the begining of the Singapore anthem was such music to our ears. We stood, and fans everywhere sang the "Majulah Singapura" with such loud delirious happiness we sounded drunk. and when it ended, we gave a loud shout of joy!
in all honesty, the Lions didn't play their best game. passes did not follow through, and there were times when we allowed the Thai players to easily take the ball from us. One thing the Thai players have which we do not is that superb ball control. But the Thai team is no longer as strong as it was back in the 80's and 90's, and we did fight well. the fans also participated as the 12th player... cheering each time we had the ball, booing the Thais when they got a corner or throw-in, or well, were just kicking the ball in the direction of our goal. but we do know how to appreciate a good player when we see one and when a Thai player did well, we clapped for him. but no cheer was louder than what we reserved for our team... and when we scored the first goal, the stadium got into such a cheer for a moment i was afraid the stadium would collapse.
even my mum got into the act.. my mum, the person who didn't think much of our team when the tournament first started, saying that the Lions did not deserve any support. now, she was up on her feet, cheering the Lions, shouting "Referee kayu!!!" when the referee didn't reward us with a penalty when it was so obvious the Thai player had executed an unfair tackle on one of our boys.
during half-time, people left their seats to replenish their drinks and snacks. you could see the backs of fans on the top platform of the stadium, rings of smoke rising up around the top of the stadium. the new regulations didn't allow smoking in the stadium, so smokers would dangle their arms outside the railings at the top, cigarette between fingers, blowing the smoke outwards - i guess that counts for smoking OUTSIDE the stadium.. lol.
the second half was even more exciting. the Thai team had now woken up, and were posing a real challenge to us. by the time the score was 1-1, you could see the nervousness on fans' faces... Singapore wanted to win, and the fans encouraged our team on.
when the referee awarded us a penalty, the whole stadium got excited. but the cheers soon died to a puzzled buzz when we saw the Thai players walk off. some asked, was it a break? what was going on? and we soon figured it out and were totally shocked. the Thai team had walked off the pitch in protest. The Thai team, not showing sportsmanship????? if you wanna protest, you do so after the match through proper channels, that's the right way. but to just walk off like that, we were disappointed with our opponents. even the Thai fans seemed very puzzled and upset with the Thai team for doing so.
the Lions soon got back onto the pitch and did various exercises to keep warm while waiting for the Thais. the Singapore fans amused themselves doing the Kallang Wave, many many times - this time, the Thai fans understandably didn't join in. we were excited. while we wanted to win convincingly, the prospect of being handed the Cup right there and then was also very appealling. we figured if the Thai team took too long to decide to come back to the pitch, they would get disqualified and we'll win!
when the Thai team did finally return to the pitch, a resounding boo greeted them. people shouted "ba-lei kampung!" (i'm getting the Malay spelling wrong, but it inteprets to "Go back home!"
With penalty, we hit 2-1, Singapore in the lead... and the stadium exploded again.
Olie, Olie, Olie, Olie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the final whistle blew, fans got up to their feet and jumped in the air... by this time, my voice had gone hoarse from cheering, but i shouted out with joy anyway, sore throat or not. it was really a most beautiful sight, to see the sea of red around the stadium explode... the happiness everyone shared was just overwhelming. when the Lions indicated their thanks to us, we exploded again, thanking the players for working hard and doing us proud.
Oh i'll never ever ever forget that moment.
even as fans started streaming out of the stadium, everyone was still in a celebratory mood. we were chanting 'Olie, Olie' as we walked down the stairs, lol! in the parking lots, a driver would blast his car horn, and everyone would cheer again.
Thank you, Singapore, for supporting your Lions.
indeed, there was a carnival-like atmosphere in the place, along with a tension of sorts... Singapore fans were going to war. almost everyone was in warfare attire... red tees of all sorts - some had 'Roar, Lions, Roar' across the front, Arsenal and Manchester United jerseys, plain tees, etc... there were also some shades of pink around, for those who didn't have a red outfit in their wardrobe but wanted to affirm that yes, they are Singapore fans. You could also spot the odd expat.... angmoh couples leading their little kids in red kiddy clothes... the blonde with "Singapore" across her forehead... the brunette guy with a pic of a Lion blazing across his tee...
The Thais were there too... they were easy to spot... little bunches of yellow in the sea of passionate red... as mean as this may sound, i enjoyed the uneasy facial expressions on the Thai fans' faces... it must have been quite uncomfortable for them to be surrounded by us, with Singapore fan spontaneously shouting "Go, Lions!" etc every now and then.
we made our way into the stadium and i caught my breath when i emerged from the the little passage linking the stairs and the interior of the stadium. there were sooooo many fans! it was like Malaysia Cup all over again! there were the cheers, the whistles, the chants, everything!
I was so glad i was there, together with the thousands of Singapore fans.
as the time drew closer to 8, kick-off time, the crowd got more and more excited and nosy. we were sitted near the Thai fans - a small crowd of yellow. every now and then, you'll hear a roar emerging from a side of the stadium. then, the Kallang Wave happened. we easily did about 6-7 of them. because the Wave was coming in from our right, everyone in my sitting area would turn in that direction and watch it approach. we'll be stamping our feet in eagerness, a soft roar rumbling in our throats. the closer the Wave came, the faster and harder we'll stamp our feets, the louder our roar got. til finally, it was our turn and we all stood up, waving our hands in the air with a triumph roaring blast! it was lovely to see the Thai fans get into the act too, doing the Wave with us, lol.
Photographers and camera crew were walking on the tracks, taking pictures, videos of fans. some fans would loudly shout and beckon to the camera crew to come to where they were, and when the camera assistant gave the go-ahead thumbs-up, the fans would go crazy, jumping about, waving their flags.
when the football players started lining up on the field, a loud cheer sounded from the stands. the Thai anthem was played first, and some Singapore fans shouted out "respect, respect" as we all kept quiet while the Thai fans stood up. then, it was our turn, and the drum roll at the begining of the Singapore anthem was such music to our ears. We stood, and fans everywhere sang the "Majulah Singapura" with such loud delirious happiness we sounded drunk. and when it ended, we gave a loud shout of joy!
in all honesty, the Lions didn't play their best game. passes did not follow through, and there were times when we allowed the Thai players to easily take the ball from us. One thing the Thai players have which we do not is that superb ball control. But the Thai team is no longer as strong as it was back in the 80's and 90's, and we did fight well. the fans also participated as the 12th player... cheering each time we had the ball, booing the Thais when they got a corner or throw-in, or well, were just kicking the ball in the direction of our goal. but we do know how to appreciate a good player when we see one and when a Thai player did well, we clapped for him. but no cheer was louder than what we reserved for our team... and when we scored the first goal, the stadium got into such a cheer for a moment i was afraid the stadium would collapse.
even my mum got into the act.. my mum, the person who didn't think much of our team when the tournament first started, saying that the Lions did not deserve any support. now, she was up on her feet, cheering the Lions, shouting "Referee kayu!!!" when the referee didn't reward us with a penalty when it was so obvious the Thai player had executed an unfair tackle on one of our boys.
during half-time, people left their seats to replenish their drinks and snacks. you could see the backs of fans on the top platform of the stadium, rings of smoke rising up around the top of the stadium. the new regulations didn't allow smoking in the stadium, so smokers would dangle their arms outside the railings at the top, cigarette between fingers, blowing the smoke outwards - i guess that counts for smoking OUTSIDE the stadium.. lol.
the second half was even more exciting. the Thai team had now woken up, and were posing a real challenge to us. by the time the score was 1-1, you could see the nervousness on fans' faces... Singapore wanted to win, and the fans encouraged our team on.
when the referee awarded us a penalty, the whole stadium got excited. but the cheers soon died to a puzzled buzz when we saw the Thai players walk off. some asked, was it a break? what was going on? and we soon figured it out and were totally shocked. the Thai team had walked off the pitch in protest. The Thai team, not showing sportsmanship????? if you wanna protest, you do so after the match through proper channels, that's the right way. but to just walk off like that, we were disappointed with our opponents. even the Thai fans seemed very puzzled and upset with the Thai team for doing so.
the Lions soon got back onto the pitch and did various exercises to keep warm while waiting for the Thais. the Singapore fans amused themselves doing the Kallang Wave, many many times - this time, the Thai fans understandably didn't join in. we were excited. while we wanted to win convincingly, the prospect of being handed the Cup right there and then was also very appealling. we figured if the Thai team took too long to decide to come back to the pitch, they would get disqualified and we'll win!
when the Thai team did finally return to the pitch, a resounding boo greeted them. people shouted "ba-lei kampung!" (i'm getting the Malay spelling wrong, but it inteprets to "Go back home!"
With penalty, we hit 2-1, Singapore in the lead... and the stadium exploded again.
Olie, Olie, Olie, Olie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the final whistle blew, fans got up to their feet and jumped in the air... by this time, my voice had gone hoarse from cheering, but i shouted out with joy anyway, sore throat or not. it was really a most beautiful sight, to see the sea of red around the stadium explode... the happiness everyone shared was just overwhelming. when the Lions indicated their thanks to us, we exploded again, thanking the players for working hard and doing us proud.
Oh i'll never ever ever forget that moment.
even as fans started streaming out of the stadium, everyone was still in a celebratory mood. we were chanting 'Olie, Olie' as we walked down the stairs, lol! in the parking lots, a driver would blast his car horn, and everyone would cheer again.
Thank you, Singapore, for supporting your Lions.
